Eve. N. Lizt, You Have The Right To Remain Silent ....

[Argus Steele]

You know you're going to have a bad day when it starts off with our junior member of the PSD getting a warrant for her arrest, first thing in the morning. Just as I was about to get all holier than thou on them, we found out why.

Eve was being accused of attempted murder! I swear, if we were in some sort of B-movie, there would have been a ba-da-*duuuun!* heard. I should be taking this seriously, but the past few hours have not been kind to the PSD.

But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let me back track a bit. We were all pretty spent following a serious Twilight Zone-like turn of events. We dealt with some weird portal-like object that was found in the supposedly vacant former Stonebridge building. I figured it was a cut-and-dry run, so I pushed for Eve and Jara to come along with us. It got Jara back in the saddle again, and got Eve's feet wet. Well, that shxt blew up right in my face, because whatever that was down there did something weird to Eve. I'm seen some displays of TK, but what the Elf did? Off the charts. Frail *never* displayed that sort of power before. Bottom-line, there were too many unanswered questions, which meant Jared and I were getting no sleep until we filed a report that didn't sound ... Well, totally out there.

Brehnic helped where he could until he crashed out on the couch, the girls weren't too far behind. I gave Elf some space; I knew if she wanted to talk about it, she would.

It was exactly 8 AM, when they came with the warrant. Jared had them wait while I went upstairs to get her. I knocked on the door, then peeked in. "Frail, up and at 'em. We got a situation."


A few moments later, she'd come to the door. By the dark smudges beneath her eyes and the fact that she was fully dressed and didn't have bed-head, Eve obviously hadn't been sleeping. "Yeah? Now what?" It felt as if everything had gone all topsy-turvy on her, on all of them really. What had happened at the old Stonebridge kept replaying in her head, along with the pseudo battle with Jared. "Cromwell sends his regards, bxtch." The words had replayed in her head many times, and she hadn't been able to shake the chill that settled over her nearly every time. And then there was Evan, and what she'd done to the wall...Eve *still* felt funny from that, like a dull throb behind her eyes that just wouldn't go away.


Either she hadn't slept a wink all night, or she never went to sleep at all. Wait ... Isn't that the same thing? Anyway, I knew I was breaking protocol by telling her before she went downstairs, but I wanted Elf to hear it from me first. "Listen, there's a couple of MP's down below, and they're here to take you to the base. They have a -"

Jara suddenly burst in the room, and took it from there. "Steele, ye cannae be lettin' them take her away! She did nae try to kill Darcy!"

You know, if this wasn't so serious, I would have smacked her right in the back of the head. Dxmn! Her and Jared are too much alike when it comes to being subtle. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. I just took a deep breath and escorted Eve downstairs. "I'm going with you, frail. Jara, get cleaned up and meet us there. I'm sure they will be sending for you, since you're a witness." Yup, by the book this one was going to be, because they already had the collar primed and ready.

Oh. She knew the look on his face - it was a look that said things weren't good. And then Jara had her outburst... Eve jerked the door open wide with a sudden surge of energy from some hidden reserve. "What?! She said I tried to *kill* her?!" That was...that was absolutely ridiculous. Eve blinked at the two, shaking her head almost violently. "No, no...that's not even what happened. Jara was there. She saw everything!" This was all so bizarre that she was having a difficult time getting her mind around it. Eve had started to flex her fingers then, curling and uncurling the cold digits. Anxiety was obviously setting in. Her steps were slow as she followed him downstairs, and there was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Just confirmed for her really that she didn't like Darcy much, nor psychs as a whole; things were too easily misconstrued when it came to them.


We watched as the collar was snapped around Eve's neck, stopping her from using any of her abilities. Then came the handcuffs. Jara had rushed to cleaned up, and came running downstairs with her hair still soaked. "I'm ridin' wit' ye Steele. Let's go!"

Eve was led outside and placed in the back-seat of an SUV, while Jara and myself would follow them in mine. At least Jara was also in the *know* as far as the whole reality thing, which allowed us to talk about it on the way. Not much comfort for Eve though. Dxmmit! She hadn't time to even recover from the Stonebridge episode, and now this. Not going to lie - this may be the straw that finally breaks her back. Jared and Brehnic would mind the store, being on call if they're needed.


In a nutshell? Eve was pissed. She was worn out, upset on so many levels and confused on others, and now...now this. Sitting in the back seat, she didn't say a word. Instead, she stared out the window, jaw tight, and feeling strange from the collar around her neck. That damn collar...it was like being an animal. Even in Stonebridge, they hadn't gone that far! She'd stopped flexing her hands, and sat statue-still, hardly even blinking. She really wanted to pretend this was all some strange, warped nightmare, and wake up in her bedroom to the alarm screeching. Hxll, she'd even settle for waking up screaming, at this point! She wasn't talkative, and there was a reason for it; she didn't figure that anyone was going to listen to what she had to say - with the exceptions of Steele and Jara.


Well, I guess we saved them a call, because the brass wanted to talk to Jara and myself about the whole situation. There were several others high ranking officials there, and once we were all seated, recorded footage from Eve's session with Doctor Darcy Jason was replayed. To the naked eye, there was nothing to see - at first. Then the changes of eye color in Doctor Jason, as well the far-away look Eve had, were clear. "We are not certain *what* happened, but something did indeed happen here. Whatever Eve Lizt did that day, it soon resulted in Doctor Jason hanging herself. "

Since Eve was powerless, she was allowed to sit in on the proceedings, but with an armed guard on either side of her. Once the footage was over, she received some harsh stares. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Eve? We already know of your dislike for Dr. Jason, though she did nothing more than try to help you."

I made a motion to speak just then. "The charges were attempted murder? So she's alive?"


"Critical condition. If Dr. Jason dies, the charges will be upgraded to first degree murder."


Truth told, she felt sick. The idea that the woman had tried to commit suicide didn't sit right with Eve, especially after what had happened. But it still confused her. "Wait a minute, here. She wanted me to look in that mirror - it was pretty obvious, or why else would it have been there? And no, I don't like her, but I don't want her to die. That's not something I'd wish on anyone. Besides, she's an Empath, correct? A *trained* Empath?" She'd paled, all color drained from her face - save for the intensity of her stormy eyes and the dark smudges beneath. "I looked in the mirror, and I was afraid. That's all that happened. There was another Sensative present - Jara. If I'd even*tried* to do anything, she would have Felt it!" This just...wasn't making any sense. *Why* would the woman try to hang herself?

...Unless it was something she didn't do by choice...


I remained quiet, but this was what I was hoping would happen. Eve wasn't able to mask her thoughts or lie, and the fact that several others that were in the room with us were high level Empaths, they would discover what I already knew. Jara would give her side of the story as well.

Once she was finished, I stood up. Either they would believe me, or lock me up. I didn't bother to look at Eve as I told them ... Everything. The Daemons. The Shifting of dimensions that seemed to center on Eve, Jara, Jared and myself. For the next several hours I told them things that left them with their eyes wide in disbelief. I compared Eve's original reality where I met her to the one we were in now. I told them about her Stonebridge, and her original Doctor Maxwell. Doctor Jason was from another realm.

And yes, I mentioned Doctor Cromwell.


She couldn't believe what she was hearing - but in a way, she was glad. Steele was a touch more eloquent than she was. Eve figured that if she'd tried to tell it, it would have lost detail, and would have come out muddled, disjointed. She was quiet while he spoke, just listening and nodding slightly now and again. With that name, however...

Eve cleared her throat gently, looking to Steele. "While we were at Stonebridge, at the...the gate, or whatever it is. Something else was in my head, and I wouldn't have known if not for Evan. But it said, 'Cromwell sends his regards.'" She really, *really* hoped that was something like a fever dream, but didn't expect it. Her grey eyes stayed fixated on him for a long moment. Regardless of what happened to her there, she wanted him to hear that, and probably understand one of the underlying fears that had been slithering through her mind since they'd left the crumbling place - that Cromwell wasn't quite as dead and gone as they might have hoped.

That seemed to draw on the last of her reserves, as the young woman sighed, squeezing her eyes shut for a long moment. "I didn't do anything to her. Jara and I didn't even understand what the problem was when she left the room - and didn't come back." Simple truth, but it was as plain as she could put it.


The assembled men and women whispered amongst themselves. Several even got up from their seats and left the room. I'm not going to lie; I had no clue which way this was going to go. They say the truth will set you free. It sure as hxll better, or the three of us were going to find the next room we were inside with wall-to-wall padding.

My girl had pulled through, again. I was sure she'd break, but she held it together. I'd give her a smile and a thumbs up for that. She knew I had her back.

Well, I lost track of time from that point on, as we found ourselves in one hxll of a question-and-answer session. They spoke to us by ourselves, and together. That told me they believed some parts, at least. They even took time to let us rest and feed us. Hmm. Too good to be true!


Indeed, it was. Eve was left slightly unnerved by the entire episode, and kept waiting for the trap to spring. This girl wasn't a little bit paranoid for nothing! She'd answer the questions when asked, but she didn't particularly want to talk, or eat. It seemed that everytime she tried, she'd start thinking about the entire episode all over again, and that did a fair job of killing her appetite. She was getting near the point of being able to think of nothing but a hot shower and a comfy place to curl up - preferably with some brainless cartoon going in the background. But this couldn't be *that* simple, could it? Granted, being arrested and collared was a far cry from being the best thing in the world, but if it was the worst thing to happen that day, she'd be pretty satisfied.


The Empaths had given their report: The three of us were telling the truth. Duh! Eve would be tested then, with Jara keeping close watch over everything.

I had the pleasure of breaking down all I knew, starting from the first moment I entered the Coffee Shop ... The first time!

Meanwhile, Jara was playing eagle-eye on everything that was being done to Eve. From the blood samples, to bio-scans, she was there. Jara had already reached a conclusion on several fronts, and one was to get Jared and Brehnic up here.

There was a tech, that was reading Eve's charts that almost had a look of near-pure relief on his face. He'd glance around to see what the others were doing, then spoke to Eve, pretending to read from the chart. "Hey, I heard about you and Doc Darcy, and that's totally bogus." Wait, the way the tech spoke just then sounded a lot like ....

The tech looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Yes?" Whatever just happened couldn't have, because she was still wearing the collar - right? Around that same time, Jara appeared distracted, as if she'd Sensed something ...

...Or someone.


At the way the tech spoke, Eve had whipped around to look at him, and had even stared. That had been out of place. *Too* out of place. Oh, but she wished she didn't still have that stupid collar on...

Opening her mouth as if to speak, the young woman just gave a shake of her head and turned back to the conversation at hand, but noticed the odd look on Jara's face; it was one she knew well. Nodding lightly to herself, the young woman put a hand to her mouth to cover a yawn. Being cooped up there wasn't doing much for her, especially along the lines of keeping her perked up. "I really need some coffee." Murmured softly to herself, faintly wondering how much longer they'd be kept there.

[Argus Steele]

"No, not since that day. I've been...I mean, I've been hoping...." She couldn't help being of two minds on that one; she hoped Evan found whatever kind of rest he could, but at the same time, she missed him. It was like having a twin that wasn't. "And even then I think he was mostly in my head." Her lips pursed a little. It had passed her mind that it was just something she'd come up with, an aspect of those little warning bells going off. "He's hardheaded and can be a pain, but I miss him."


"I'm thinking he may be tied into those gates as well. I'll have more to go on tomorrow."


"Yeah, I thought about that one too. I hope not, but ... I'll wait and see what you have to say. You're generally better at putting things together than I am." A sheepish little smile, and soft shake of her head.


"Anything else on your mind? I figure I need to be putting an appearance back at the base soon."


"No. Nothing outside the usual." A brief nibble of her lower lip, and she clucked her tongue softly. "I guess I should be trying to get some sleep soon. Since I don't exactly know how this session is going to go, I'm figuring it'll be easier if I'm nice and awake. Or at least *look* like I've slept."


"Hxll, if push comes to shove, just take Jara with you." Pushing away from the table. "Get some quality sleep, before those bags become luggage."


She laughed, but at the idea of taking Jara than anything else. "She'd get me locked up, for sure." Eve slid her chair back, then rose for a long stretch, arms over her head. Maybe it wouldn't even be hard to sleep; all she'd have to do is slow down the spin of her mind. Cartoons were usually good for that.


Steele would give her a nod before heading back outside. The smirk became a more serious look as he made his way down the street.


Eve took a few moments longer to leave; she figured a walk would do her good.

[Argus Steele]

He stood staring at the tavern sign for what felt like forever. Then, with a deep breath, he walked up the steps, and caught the door as it was closing, stepping into the smoky atmosphere.

Finding a recently vacated table, Steele glanced at his watch. Hopefully, she wouldn't get lost. He fought off a grin at the mere thought of that.


Late again! She seemed to be forever running late, but now wasn't the time to worry about it; now was the time for Eve to find out if she was in the right place. The Medieval Tavern. It *looked* right, but she quickly found out by bounding lightly up the steps and through the door. A blink or two as she entered, feeling quite out of place and casting a look around for a familiar face.


As if on cue, there was that trademark wide-eyed look. Yeah, he'd probably have to explain how he came across this place. A motion made to her in an effort to gain her attention. "Over here, Lizzie!"


Picking out one voice among the rest wasn't easy, but it was the one word that did it. Lizzie. Eve cringed inwardly, but made a beeline for the table. Greatful to be in the right place! "Hey!" Using a sneaker-clad foot to tug the chair out by a leg, she dropped into it, and gave him an odd look."Where'd you get 'Lizzie' from?" Had a feeling, but wanted to ask.


"I heard Jara call you that once." Steele shrugged. "I could go back to calling you 'Elf,' if you prefer. Have any trouble finding the place?" He helped by kicking out the chair for her.


"Jara calls me a lot of things." Spoken with a smile, and as she settled, Eve crossed denim-clad legs and dropped her hands into her lap. She'd left her dark hair down this time, only swept it back with a silver headband. "I think I like 'Elf' better." But the look on her face said she wasn't thrilled with either one. "But sorry I'm late. Finding the place was fun, and ... I ... don't even know how I got behind." A shrug, but it was the best explanation she could provide.


"Hmm. Well, this place was the only one I could think of off the top of my head that would allow us to talk freely, Lizzie-Elf." He'd smile again. "The instructions were to make sure you weren't being followed."


Facepalm. What had she gotten started, now? She peered at him from between her fingers, then dropped her hands. "Yay, a new nickname." Deadpan.Then she was studying him, carefully. "By who?" As if being arrested and collared wasn't bad enough, now she had to worry about being followed? The fun never ended!


"You may have been cleared as fas as what happened with Dr. Darcy, but there are still some that consider you a loose cannon. Cute, but dangerous. There are ... Places they still won't go. No pull here." That semi-sinister grin was there, and he folded his arm across his chest, leaning back into the chair slightly.


Blink, blink. She leaned forward over the table a little, as if trying to make sure she heard correctly. "A ... a 'loose cannon?'" That was just funny. Eve sank back in her chair, laughing quietly to herself, followed by a slow shake of her head. "I'm a loose cannon." Yep, still just as funny this time. Eve gave Steele that sweet little, 'who, me?' smile. "Just tell me that it's not all of *our* nice little bunch that thinks that." The Ricos, Kohnar and himself, that was. Otherwise, she didn't really care what the brass thought.


"In order? Jara sees you as the Jan to her Marsha." He tried to keep a straight face on that one! "Jared feels you're doing good despite all that's happened to you. Brehnic thinks you have good potential - for a rookie." Steele would smile again, nodding slowly.


The slight arch of a brow at the Jara comment. "Jara's full of it, too." Otherwise ... she was going to leave that one alone! "But I'm *still* the rookie?" Funny, but she felt like she'd been involved in these goings-on forever. And, well, she'd been in them for a while, but reality getting all bungled up had a way of erasing a bit of it. "Okay, great, but now I get to worry about being tailed?" Her lips pursed a little just as she finished the comment, and the young woman realized it wasn't much of a stretch for her; she was generally pretty paranoid as was. "Alright, so ... any word on the Stonebridge thing? Like ... if the, um, gate was destroyed along with the building?"


"Like it, and the building, never existed. Weird, huh? Just as weired as your ... new shrink. Three guesses, and the first two don't count."


"Maxwell, eh?" Her brows rose, and the rounded tips of her nails tapped gently at the wooden arm of her chair. "Here's hoping he's a lot more easy to work with than he's been in the past." A quirk of her lips. "I'll even try to behave myself and not freak him out too badly."


"That's where the plot twist comes in, Lizzie-Elf. He was your pre-teen shrink." Yeah, Steele sort of knew what was coming next.


A sigh, and she let her head fall back long enough to stare up at the ceiling for a moment. "Lovely. You know, I'd be really interested in getting a look at my files. At least know what's in them, what kind of history they have on me so I know what to expect. I'm telling you, I didn't know what Darcy expected me to do with that mirror. I thought she wanted me to break it at first, but I'm just ... not ... going there." Wave of a slender hand, and quick shake of her head.


"Short version? You're sort of estranged from your folks. When you turned 18, you told Maxwell to kiss off. Then there was the job at the Coffee Shop .... That close enough?"


"Yeah, sounds about right." Quite a lot like what she'd done before, even though she'd been a little older than 18. "Have you met him?"Curiosity.


"This time around? No, not yet. He should be here by morning. From what I was told, he was almost expecting the call. Arrogant bugger."


"Can't catch a break." Spoken with a grin and a shake of her head."He's always wanted to get his talons into me, and I'm sure he was prettyticked when I told him to bugger off. Happen to know if he's still a friend of my folks?"

" 'Fraid so. It's almost like things are starting to work themselves out, huh?"


"Yeah." Softly, almost disappointed. Eve really shouldn't have been surprised by the news, though. "I'm just tired of the whole psychiatrist thing, I guess. None of them seem to get it, and that includes the Empath!" She could appreciate the difficulty of her situation for Darcy, but it was still frustrating. Still, it could all get a little depressing if she thought about it too much.

Trying to change her mood, she looked over at Steele and flashed that sweet smile again. "So when's vacation?"


"You're on it until you get cleared by Maxwell." He nodded slowly. "There's a lot of things going on right now, things we didn't know about. That wasn't the first gate the higher ups discovered." Spoken with a very annoyed look on his face.


"Until I'm cleared by who?" Maxwell. She was giving him a dubious look before she sighed and sank back in her chair. "Well, chances are that you'd better start looking for a new rookie to fill my spot." If he was anything like the psych she'd known, he'd try to have her back in Stonebridge by the same night - proof or not. So much for perking back up.


"Pft, frail. Major spin this time around. It's not just about you. Evidently, there were a lot of people that were suffering from memory loss - world wide. It seems to be tied into those flamin' gates."


"With the gates." Grey eyes narrowed speculatively, flickering back to him. "Have they said how many of these things have been found?"


"At last count? Thirty seven." He nodded again. "Yeah, you'll be back on duty sooner than you think. Maxwell's being brought in because he's one of those that was ... Finally convinced." Spoken with a wink.


She was giving him a look that said she wasn't quite convinced, then a shake of her head. "It should make for an interesting session. Any idea how long they've known about these things?" It was pretty strange to Eve, to have any knowledge of them but sit on it for very long - especially in light of memory loss and such, worldwide.


"I'll find out more in the morning. I'm being promoted to head a new PSD."

"A new PSD?" A blink, and she shook her head. "Hey, promotion is great, but ... what about this one?"


"Since my squad has the most combined experience dealing with ... what's been going on, and how we've handled things ... They felt that it was in ... Everyone's best interest to get some 'hands on' people." He sat there, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. "I get to pick who I want on the team, and it will include a certain loose cannon."


"Every team has to have a loose cannon; the ace in the hole that you get riled up and turn loose at the opportune momen-" And then it dawned on her. Her eyes went a little wide, and her cheeks flushed, feeling pretty thick-headed. "Oh. And there, I thought you were talking about Jara for a minute." With a grin, trying to shake it. "Just hope I don't have quite the same experiences with the gates." Or better yet, hoped not too close to them, but it that kind of weirdness seemed to be a part of the job.


" So ... Any more Evan sightings? He seems to be the only missing puzzle piece. Along with Amber, that is."